Android Gingerbread

True their promise, BlackBerry has just made its messaging, and now voice call, app available to more Android users. Now even those running on an ancient Android 2.3 version will be able to enjoy the rebirth of the BBM phenomenon.

It's that time of the month again to look back at how our favorite Android versions have been faring. Since January, however, there has been very little movement in terms of adoption though the basic trend in Android distributions still holds true.

Vine, the popular quick-video platform, has an Android update that has us scratching our heads. While the twitter-centric service is full of six second clips meant to be a living GIF of sorts, it also left out one very important Android demographic. Until now, those on Gingerbread couldn’t take advantage of Vine. That's changed — sort of.

ALCATEL ONE TOUCH, a maker of affordable smartphones, today announced that its ONE TOUCH Shockwave would make its way to US Cellular. It's a smartphone targeted at consumers looking for durable device that can handle the rigors of everyday life. It has a shock resistant casing, a damage-resistant Dragontrail tempered glass screen, and a water-resistant casing.

Today the team at T-Mobile will be announcing the availability of the HTC Wildfire S, a lovely little HTC device made to compete against the mid-tier onslaught we've been witnessing from Samsung, LG, and the lot. This device will be available on August 3rd, 2011, for $79.99 after a cool $50 mail-in rebate and tied to a 2-year agreement with qualifying "Classic" voice and data plan. This device will be running Android 2.3.x Gingerbread and will of course have a new version of HTC Sense for your ease of use.

SO you're in to the whole understanding of how the Android version ecosystem works, are you? Let's have a look at how Google sees it. As their latest findings reveal, devices accessing the Android Market (their gauge for official Android devices) are showing a 14 day trend showing the following: Android 2.3 and 2.3.4 Gingerbread are coming up quick, Android 2.2 Froyo is still highly dominant, and Android 2.1 Eclair is STILL no small contender. And what do you know, there's still a few Android 1.x devices out there - who the heck are you people, and what do you want with us futuristic accessors?

Ruh roh, one of those mysterious gremlin errors is happening in everyone's favorite smartphone with the coolest most nude version of Android 2.3 Gingerbread, the Nexus S. This particular error is reportedly happening specifically on the Nexus S 4G (aka the Sprint version of the device) and includes connectivity and random photo deletion errors. Before we continue, have a look at our review of said Nexus S 4G device and come back with full knowledge. Then hear this, as spoken by a spokesperson from big Yellow to ComputerWorld late yesterday: "We are aware of the connectivity reports being brought forward by a small number of Nexus S 4G customers. Google, Sprint and Samsung are examining these reports and though we have not yet been able to identify any specific causes, we are working to determine exactly what our customers are experiencing." Bad news bears!

So you're sitting there taking a look at your brand new Sony Ericsson Xperia PLAY from Verizon and you notice something strange. Something feels a little - off. You think, what could it be? Could this device be broken somehow, am I just losing my mind? No, wait, what's that, is there an extra layer over the screen here that I forgot to take off? No way, man, can't be. But sure as heck it is, a protective plastic sheet attached to the screen, not the same as the rest of the standard packaging safeguards, but one that's meant to stay on for life.

Samsung's sent out an update for all you owners of basically every Galaxy device under the sun promising no less than Android 2.3 Gingerbread before the end of this month. The update comes officially at the end of yesterday, those of you living in the UK and other Nordic countries having the best luck will be seeing this update first. From there, starting in mid-May (now,) the rest of the world will see such lovely treats: Euro markets, North America, Southeast Asia, Middle East Asia, Africa, and the rest. This update will be rolling out via Kies. This release solidifies months of whispers of similar such reports on the same cookie.